Synopsis

The third poignant novel in The Nicholson Quartet revisits a family divided by pride and weakened by poverty in turn-of-the-century Glasgow.

Dedicated to holding their marriage together for the sake of their crippled son, both Kirsty and Craig Nicholson are forced to sacrifice the lovers they have previously found escape in. And for a time all seems well... until Kirsty seizes an opportunity to buy a small shop and makes a roaring success of her new career.

Lonely and rejected, Craig continually seeks ways to gain the upper hand on his wife and her partners until only a brittle band of conscience stands between them and ruin.